Automobile door safety lock mechanism



Dec. 3, 1963 T. CARPENTER 3,112,947

AUTOMOBILE DOOR SAFETY LOCK MECHANISM Filed Jan. 28, 1959 TPAC Y L.CARPENTER United States Patent 3,112,947 AUTOMOBILE DOOR SAFETY LOCKMECHANISM Tracy L. Carpenter, Oceanside, N.Y., assignor, by mesneassignments, to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., acorporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 28, 1959, Ser. No. 789,671 Claims.(Cl. 292-280) This invention relates to a safety door latch mechanismfor an automobile door, and is a continuation-in-part of my applicationSerial No. 521,694 filed July 13, 1955, now abandoned.

Latch mechanisms of the rotary bolt type have become standard equipmenton automobiles. Such latch mechanisms, in general, include a latchmember carried by a door having a rotary bolt with radial projections orteeth thereon for meshing engagement when the door is closedcorresponding with teeth on the keeper or striker member which ismounted on the door frame. The teeth of the rotary bolt mesh with theteeth of the striker and are prevented from rotatable disengagement by areleasable detent in the form of a pawl and ratchet. In my priorapplication filed July 13, 1955, Serial No. 521,694, on an AutomobileDoor Lock Mechanism, there is described a latch mechanism having aninterlock feature which includes a disc which is adapted to bridge oroverlap the teeth of the engaged striker and rotary bolt. When the dooris in the closed position, the interlock serves to prevent lateraldisengagement of the rotary bolt and the striker. This type of interlockis effective in preventing lateral disengagements, if the forces tendingto cause such disengagements such as those caused by some collisionimpacts are substantially parallel to the path of lateral disengagement.

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a safety lockwhich is an improvement of such locks. In its preferred embodiment theinvention involves the use of an interlock comprising a C-shaped strikerwhich receives a rotary toothed bolt provided with a releasable detent.to prevent rotation of the bolt. A portion of the inner edge of theC-shaped striker is provided with projections or teeth adapted to engagethe teeth of the rotary bolt. The teeth of the striker are adapted tomesh with the teeth of the bolt and are prevented from pulling apartlaterally or in any direction lengthwise of the automobile by a disc orplate which overlaps the entire recess of the C-shaped striker inengaged position with the bolt. Cooperation between the disc and theC-shaped striker restrains separation even for cantin-g or tippingmovements due to collisions. Accidental disengagement along the normalpath of opening and closing of the door is prevented by a conventionalmanually releasable detent lo ck mechanism. Accordingly, a lock of theinvention will prevent all accidcntal disengagements within thestructural limits of the component elements.

It is another purpose of this invention to provide a safety lock whichwill not jam in the closed position. This purpose is accomplished byassuring that the respective teeth of the striker and rotary bolt arenot jammed into a non-rotatable position by distortion or by any othermember .of the lock assembly becoming wedged between the engaged teethto prevent rotatable disengagement of the teeth. This feature of theinvention is significant in enabling doors jammed due to collision,thereby trapping the passengers within the vehicle, to be yanked orpried open even though the door is wedged within the door frame.

One embodiment of the invention -will now be described in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

ICC

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the latch member in engaged position withthe striker;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the latch device; and

FIG. 3 shows the exposed face of the striker.

Referring now to the drawing, latch support 10 is attached by screwsthrough holes 10a to the exposed or free vertical edge of a door of anautomobile. The door and door frame are not shown since their relationto the lock device has been described in detail in my above mentionedapplication. On the latch member is rotatably mounted a roller gear 111having a plurality of radial projections or teeth 11a. The shaft 12a ofthe roller gear is journalled in plate 13 of latch member 10.Advantageously, a circular shim 10b is positioned behind roller gear 11to prevent roller gear 11 from binding against plate 13. Within the doorassembly a conventional manually releasable detent lock mechanism (notshown but of the type disclosed in my copending application, moreparticularly drawing FIG. 5 thereof) is under control of manuallyoperated push buttons or levers to release roller gear 11 for freerotation. A circular disc or plate 14 is rigidly connected to the shaft12a of roller gear 11 by an externally threaded bolt extension 14a whichis screwed into the internally threaded portion 12 of shaft 12a.Alternatively, the disc 14 may be integrally formed by welding orcasting with the shaft 12a and the roller gear 11. Mounted on the plate13 or integrally formed therewith is an elongated dovetail 15 of sheetmetal.

Striker 16 is mounted with the face shown in FIG. 2 against the jambface of the door frame contiguous therewith with screws through holes17. Striker 16 includes an arm 31 having at least two toothlikeprojections 18 the spaces between which receive the teeth 11a of rollergear 11. The width of teeth 18 is preferably narrower than the width ofteeth 11a on roller gear 11 to reduce the jamming effect which may occurif the striker 16 and latch support 10, particularly, roller gear 11,are twisted relative to each other. The lower C-shaped arm portion 19 ofstriker 16, coplanar with teeth 18 on arm 3-1, forms an opening or mouth20 which is sufiicient to receive roller gear 11 but is smaller than thediameter of disc 14. A plate 23 is attached to the inner face (as seenin FIG. 2) of the striker 16 by screws 24. Plate 23 is not coextensivewith striker portion 19 but is narrower to form a stepped recess 30 forthe reception, between the striker and the jamb, of the disc 14, and tothat end, plate 23 is of a thickness somewhat greater than that of disc14. The thickness of plate 23 and portion 19 will of course be greaterthan the width of the roller gear 11 and the disc 14. FIG. 3 shows theface of striker 16 as would be normally exposed after mounting on thedoor frame.

In a portion of upper recess 21 of striker 16 a wedge 22 is slidablycarried on a spring loaded shaft 22a as better seen in FIG. 3. The upperrecess 21 is tapered to receive, in a wedging action, dovetail 15 on thedoor mounted latch member 10. Coaction of wedge 22 and dovetail 15serves to prevent the door rattling within the door frame when the lockis engaged but is not essential to the invention.

In operation, assuming an open door, latch member 10, mounted on thefree edge of the door, is swung toward the right as viewed in FIG. 2 toengage striker 16 mounted on the door frame. The roller gear 11 engagingteeth 18 of striker 16 will rotate counter-clockwise by ratchet actionthereby allowing roller gear 11 to be rolled into recess 20. The inwardmovement of the door is limited by the inner circular portion of recess20 engaging the ends of teeth 11a. In the alternative, the limitinginward movement of the door may be accomplished by appropriate design ofthe dovetail 15, wedge 22 and the upper recess 21 so that the teeth endsof roller gear 11 need not engage the inner portion of recess 20. Toopen the door the roller gear 11 is released for free rotation from itslocked position by a conventional lever or a plunger (not shown butshown and described in my copending application). The door is thenallowed to be swung open by free rotation of the roller gear 11 in aclockwise direction. Thus, any accidental opening of the door isprevented unless the roller gear is released for free rotation by manualoperation of the release mechanism. Longitudinal disengagement of theteeth on the roller gear 11 from the teeth 18 on the striker 16, thatis, in a general direction axially of shaft '12, is prevented by theinner or unexposed face of the disc 14 engaging the unexposed face ofthe C-shaped portion of the striker. Vertical disengagement of thestriker teeth from roller gear teeth is prevented by the lower armportion 19 engaging the roller gear teeth opposite those in mesh withthe teeth 18 of the upper arm portion.

In the event of an accident causing torsional stress in the automobilebody tending to spring the door open, a door lock mechanism constructedaccording to the invention, will have the striker plate restrainedlaterally and vertically from toothed disengagement from the bolt bymeans of two integrally formed arms spaced vertically from each otherand projecting into opposite sides of the bolt, so that any canting ortipping movement is resisted by holding the striker plate in position attwo spaced locations.

Thus, any tendency of the striker plate to rotate about the axis ofeither the striker arm carrying the roller gear engaging projections orthe lower arm is etfectively restrained.

In the event that the door due to impact of collision is wedged withinthe door frame, the safety lock of the invention cannot be jammed in theclosed or engaged position since the teeth of the roller gear in meshwith the striker teeth can be twisted with respect to each other, as thestriker teeth in the preferred form are thinner than the roller gearteeth. Thus, any twisting motion of the striker relative to axis of thegear will allow the thinner striker projections to rotate within thespaces between the roller gear teeth without jamming. In addition, sincethe teeth are enclosed within the described recess, other members of theautomobile or the lock assembly are not apt to be forced therein andthereby become entangled between the teeth. If a collision does cause awedged door, the detent may be released and the door may be yanked orpried open since the teeth of the roller gear are free to disengage thestriker teeth freely.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to theform shown and described but that various modifications may be made tothis form and without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described,including: a bolt movable about an axis, said bolt having a plurality ofradially projecting gear-like bolt teeth extending at least partiallyaround its periphcry; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidlymounted on said bolt immediately adjacent the outer face thereof formovement therewith about said axis, said disk having a diameter at leastas great as the addendum circle of said bolt; a striker having a bodywith a plurality of tooth-like projections extending therefrom formeshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt, and a striker interlockportion projecting from said body in the plane of said tooth-likeprojections formed to provide, in cooperation with said tooth-likeprojections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt, said tooth-likeprojections defining one boundary arm of said C-shaped recess, said diskoverlapping said tooth-like projections and said striker interlockportion and being equally spaced from each to prevent separation of saidbolt teeth from said toothlike projections in a direction extendingaxially of said bolt.

2. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described,including: a rotatable bolt having a plurality of radially projectinggear-like bolt teeth extending at least partially around its periphery;a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidly mounted on said boltimmediately adjacent the outer face thereof for rotation therewith, saiddisk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle of saidbolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-like projectionsextending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth of said bolt,and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body in the planeof said tooth-like projections formed to provide, in cooperation withsaid tooth-like projections, a C-shaped recess to receive said bolt,said tooth-like projections defining one boundary arm of said C-shapedrecess, said disk lying out of the plane of the tooth-like projectionsand the interlock portion and overlapping said tooth-like projectionsand said striker interlock portion and being equally spaced from each toprevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-like projectionsin a direction extending axially of said bolt.

3. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described,including: a rotatable bolt having a plurality of symmetrical equallyspaced radially projecting gearlike bolt teeth extending around itsperiphery; a bolt interlock member comprising a disk rigidly mounted onsaid bolt immediately adjacent the outer face thereof for rotationtherewith, said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendumcircle of said bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality oftooth-like projections extending therefrom for meshing engagement withthe teeth of said bolt, and a striker interlock portion projecting fromsaid body in the plane of said tooth-like projections formed to provide,in cooperation with said toothlike projections, a C-shaped recess toreceive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary armof said C-shaped recess, said disk overlapping said toothlikeprojections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spacedfrom each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-likeprojections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

4. Apparatus of the character claimed in claim 3, wherein said strikerinterlock portion is formed integrally with the striker body from whichit projects.

5. Vehicle door latching apparatus of the character described, includinga shaft, a rotatable bolt carried by said shaft, said bolt having aplurality of radially projecting gear-like bolt teeth extending at leastpartially around its periphery; a bolt interlock member comprising adisk carried by said shaft immediately adjacent the outer face of saidbolt, means for preventing axial separation of said disk from said bolt,said disk having a diameter at least as great as the addendum circle ofsaid bolt; a striker having a body with a plurality of tooth-likeprojections extending therefrom for meshing engagement with the teeth ofsaid bolt,and a striker interlock portion projecting from said body inthe plane of said toothlike projections formed to provide, incooperation with said tooth-like projections, a C-shaped recess toreceive said bolt, said tooth-like projections defining one boundary armof said C-shaped recess, said disk overlapping said tooth-likeprojections and said striker interlock portion and being equally spacedfrom each to prevent separation of said bolt teeth from said tooth-likeprojections in a direction extending axially of said bolt.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,814,193 Roethel Nov. 26, 1957 2,931,677 De Vito et a1 Apr. 5, 1960FOREIGN PATENTS 789,282 Great Britain Jan. 15, 1958

1. VEHICLE DOOR LATCHING APPARATUS OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED,INCLUDING: A BOLT MOVABLE ABOUT AN AXIS, SAID BOLT HAVING A PLURALITY OFRADIALLY PROJECTING GEAR-LIKE BOLT TEETH EXTENDING AT LEAST PARTIALLYAROUND ITS PERIPHERY; A BOLT INTERLOCK MEMBER COMPRISING A DISK RIGIDLYMOUNTED ON SAID BOLT IMMEDIATELY ADJACENT THE OUTER FACE THEREOF FORMOVEMENT THEREWITH ABOUT SAID AXIS, SAID DISK HAVING A DIAMETER AT LEASTAS GREAT AS THE ADDENDUM CIRCLE OF SAID BOLT; A STRIKER HAVING A BODYWITH A PLURALITY OF TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS EXTENDIN THEREFROM FORMESHING ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TEETH OF SAID BOLT, AND A STRIKER INTERLOCKPORTION PROJECTING FROM SAID BODY IN THE PLANE OF SAID TOOTH-LIKEPROJECTIONS FORMED TO PROVIDE, IN COOPERATION WITH SAID TOOTH-LIKEPROJECTIONS, A C-SHAPED RECESS TO RECEIVE SAID BOLT, SAID TOOTH-LIKEPROJECTIONS DEFINING ONE BOUNDARY ARM OF SAID C-SHAPED RECESS, SAID DISKOVERLAPPING SAID TOOTH-LIKE PROJECTIONS AND SAID STRIKER INTERLOCKPORTION AND BEING EQUALLY SPACED FROM EACH TO PREVENT SEPARATION OF SAIDBOLT TEETH FROM SAID TOOTHLIKE PROJECTIONS IN A DIRECTION EXTENDINGAXIALLY OF SAID BOLT.